Former wrestling executive Linda McMahon is inching up on Connecticut Attorney General
Richard Blumenthal and now trails the Democrat 55 - 35 percent in the U.S. Senate race, according to
a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

This compares to a 56 - 31 percent Blumenthal lead over McMahon in a May 27 survey by
the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.

Blumenthal tops former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, who has suspended his bid for the GOP
nomination but who remains on the ballot, by a similar 54 - 33 percent margin, and beats
businessman Peter Schiff 56 - 29 percent.

McMahon leads the Republican primary for U.S. Senate with 45 percent, followed by
Simmons with 29 percent and Schiff with 13 percent, with 12 percent undecided.

"Three weeks after the Vietnam flap, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has lost a
little more ground to Linda McMahon, but he still has a comfortable lead. Prior to the Vietnam
controversy, Blumenthal led by 33 points. A week after the controversy, his lead was 25 points.
Now it's down to 20 points," said Quinnipiac University Poll Director Douglas Schwartz, PhD.

"In primaries across the country this week, Republican women soared. Can McMahon do
the same in Connecticut? Like those who won on Tuesday night, she is a successful business
woman running as an outsider. One difference, however, is that Connecticut voters have a
negative view of the WWE and say that her experience as the World Wrestling Entertainment
CEO makes them less likely to vote for her by about two-one margins.

"But McMahon must feel good that she has reversed her negative favorability rating."

"Blumenthal, meanwhile, still has a 73 - 22 percent job approval, the best score in
Connecticut," Dr. Schwartz added."

Connecticut voters say 52 - 34 percent that McMahon does not have the right kind of
experience to be a U.S. Senator. Voters have a negative 22 - 43 percent opinion of professional
wrestling and say 36 - 16 percent that McMahon's role as CEO of WWE makes them less likely
to vote for her, while 44 percent say this won't affect their vote.

Because of his statements concerning his military service in the Vietnam era, voters say
33 - 3 percent that they are less likely to vote for Blumenthal, but 61 percent say this doesn't make a
difference, identical to the May 27 survey findings.

"The Gulf oil spill washed the Vietnam flap out of the headlines, at least for now,
possibly limiting the political damage for Blumenthal," Schwartz said.

Governor's Primaries

In the Republican primary for governor, former ambassador Tom Foley has 39 percent,
followed by Lt. Gov. Mike Fedele with 12 percent and businessman Oz Griebel with 2 percent.
Another 44 percent of Republicans are undecided and the percentage of voters who don't know
enough about the candidates to form an opinion ranges from 52 percent to 89 percent.

Former Senate candidate Ned Lamont leads in the Democratic primary for governor with
39 percent, with 22 percent for former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy and 36 percent undecided.
Lamont gets a 43 - 9 percent favorability among Democrats, with 46 percent who haven't heard
enough to form an opinion. For Malloy, 68 percent haven't heard enough.

"Little or no movement in either primary for governor, as the best known candidates, Tom
Foley and Ned Lamont continue to enjoy double digit leads. But with two months until the
primaries, and the large undecided, there is still plenty of room for movement," Schwartz said.

From June 2 - 8, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,350 Connecticut registered voters with
a margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points. The survey includes 500 Democrats with a margin
of error of +/- 4.4 percentage points and 343 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 5.3
percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey,
Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or
follow us on Twitter.

1. (If registered Democrat) If the Democratic primary for Governor were being
held today and the candidates were Ned Lamont and Dan Malloy, for whom would you
vote?

8. (If registered Republican) If the 2010 Republican primary for United States
Senator were being held today and the candidates were Rob Simmons, Linda McMahon
and Peter Schiff, for whom would you vote?

TREND: (If registered Republican) If the 2010 Republican primary for United
States Senator were being held today and the candidates were Rob Simmons, Linda
McMahon and Peter Schiff, for whom would you vote? (Data available upon request
back to May 2009)

32. Does the controversy about Richard Blumenthal's statements regarding his
military service during the Vietnam war make you more likely to vote for him in
the November general election, less likely, or doesn't it make a difference?

TREND: Does the controversy about Richard Blumenthal's statements regarding his
military service during the Vietnam war make you more likely to vote for him in
the November general election, less likely, or doesn't it make a difference?

33. Which one of the following do you think better describes how Richard
Blumenthal has portrayed his military service during the Vietnam war;
A) Blumenthal has misspoken, but not lied about his military service or
B) Blumenthal has lied about his military service?

33. Which one of the following do you think better describes how Richard
Blumenthal has portrayed his military service during the Vietnam war;
A) Blumenthal has misspoken, but not lied about his military service or
B) Blumenthal has lied about his military service?

Jun 10 May 27
2010 2010
Misspoken 53 54
Lied 40 38
DK/NA 8 8

34. Which type of Senate candidate would you prefer: a candidate who funds their
campaign mostly with private donations or a wealthy candidate who funds their
campaign mostly with their own funds?